Trump Offers 'Hand of Friendship' After Sanctioning Half a Country
The mainstream narrative wonders why Iran is 'wary' of US negotiations following a '12-day war' and Donald Trump's 'hand of friendship.' What the narrative conveniently glosses over is Trump's 2018 unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA, despite Iran's compliance, and the subsequent 'maximum pressure' campaign (sanctions, sanctions, more sanctions). Oh, and let's not forget the 2020 assassination of
General Qassem Soleimani on Iraqi soil—an act of war, not diplomacy. This wasn't some minor spat; it was a sustained economic siege combined with targeted killings, directly impacting millions of Iranian citizens. One might question how sincere a 'hand of friendship' can be when it's still clutching the economic noose and a war trophy. The US government and its media cheerleaders (many influenced
by groups like AIPAC, which consistently advocates for hawkish Iran policies and spent over $23 million in 2022 lobbying Congress, according to OpenSecrets) seem baffled by Iran's reluctance. Perhaps they expect amnesia from a nation that has endured decades of Western intervention, including a US-backed coup in 1953 and support for Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War. The current 'difficulty'
in diplomacy isn't a mystery; it's a direct consequence of US foreign policy choices, repeatedly framed as 'tough' but ultimately self-sabotaging.